We propose a research agenda that can assist in developing a dynamic and comprehensive theory of boards of directors. It is based upon the concept of temporality, with time being organised around the life-cycle metaphor, and integrates research on agency theory, decision-making theory and resource dependence theory. We identify three key roles of boards of directors:

1. 1.monitoring and controlling top management;

2. 2.involvement in strategic decision-making; and

3. 3.providing access to resources and networks.

Our analysis suggests that boards perform all three roles, but that these roles change over time. We propose clear researchable questions for each stage of the organisational life cycle as well as the transition between the stages.

There is an increasing focus in today's organization on measuring results and calculating return on investment. Efforts of administrators today to control organizational endeavors are essential and generally aligned with current best practices. Control mechanisms, however, ultimately prove to be only part of the puzzle. Strategic planning, encompassing such activities as planning, performance measurement, program budgeting, and the like, has proven to be very useful but limited. It is a technical fix that gets at only part of the question of organizational effectiveness and only deals with some organizational dilemmas. In the face of such realities, the notion of strategic thinking emerges to fill the gaps and overcome the limitations that experience with strategic planning has proven to exhibit. This paper presents an integration of leadership ideas, strategic thinking and traditional planning activities in an effort to make important connections and important distinctions.

Organizational decision making requires the ability to process ambiguous information while dealing with overload and conflicting requirements. Although researchers agree that ambiguity tolerance is a critical skill for making high-quality complex decisions, few have investigated the effects of ambiguity tolerance on self-efficacy to make complex decisions. In the current experiment, 151 participants were randomly assigned to either a moderate complexity or high complexity decision task. Ambiguity tolerance moderated the relationships between task complexity and self-efficacy, and between task complexity and the accuracy of self-efficacy in predicting future performance. In the highly complex task, individuals with a higher tolerance for ambiguity reported higher self-efficacy and more accurate self-efficacy versus individuals with lower tolerance for ambiguity. In the moderately complex task, tolerance for ambiguity had no effects on self-efficacy or accuracy. Implications for research and practice are presented, along with study limitations.

Research has demonstrated the growing prevalence of sexual harassment (SH) across continents, industries and occupations as well as the associated negative outcomes (Glomb et al. 1999). Not surprisingly, job satisfaction is one of the job-related variables that is frequently investigated in the SH literature, with Lapierre et al. (2005) meta-analytically establishing that SH significantly diminishes job satisfaction. Other studies have argued, however, that ‘satisfied’ employees do not necessarily perform to the best of their abilities (Crossman & Abou-Zaki 2003) and that work engagement is a better construct to understand what makes employees ‘go the extra mile’ (Hallgerg & Schaufeli 2006; Buckingham & Coffman 1999). This study, conducted in Australia, adopted the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli et al. 2002a), as an empirical gauge of the construct ‘work engagement’ and the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (Fitzgerald et al. 1988) to measure SH. A strong negative relationship was established in addition to significant differences in the SH experiences of men and women.

Explanations of racioethnic inequality in organizations highlight the role of stereotypes, prejudices, biases, and discrimination in the production of such inequality. However, little is known about the impact that regular organizational practices have, either curbing or exacerbating racioethnic inequality at work. This paper argues that bureaucratic practices curb while post-bureaucratic practices exacerbate racioethnic inequality. First, this paper shows that unequal access to career advancements and payment between majority and minority employees of the Dutch national tax administration is partly due to the prevalence of post-bureaucratic ways of labour control. Second, linked to forms of labour control, post-bureaucratic ways of organizing the primary process also contribute to the production of such racioethnic inequality. Regarding both labour control and the structuring of the primary process, minority employees have an interest in the application of bureaucratic concepts that limit the space for stereotypes, prejudices, biases, and discrimination whereas post-bureaucratic concepts amplify this space.

Conflict is a ubiquitous feature of groups in organizations that clearly affects group performance. While prior research has investigated the role of personality on conflict resolution styles at the individual level, little work has examined the role of personality on the emergence of conflict. This may be partially due to the fact that the emergence of conflict is inherently a group-level phenomenon, and thus requires the aggregation of personality to the group (or at least dyadic) level of analysis. I propose that each of the Big Five personality traits (or specific facets), at the group level, affect the emergence of either task conflict, relationship conflict, or both. Developing our understanding of how group personality composition affects both of these types of conflict is necessary to better enable groups to manage conflict, and thereby lessen potentially harmful outcomes resulting from conflict.

This paper critically reviews and analyses the empirical and theoretical literature relating to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs and their impact on the attitudes and behaviours of consumers. Given the increasingly important and influential role that corporations are playing in society, this review considers the contrasting arguments surrounding the extent to which a well-designed and implemented CSR program will impact consumers. In doing so, this review improves our understanding of the importance of corporate socially responsible action and identifies gaps in the field of CSR research that need to be addressed in order to help organizations more effectively adopt CSR programs.

This paper describes commissioned research on how a Wānanga, a Maori focused post school institution in New Zealand, perceived its strategic options following the publication of the Labour-led government's Tertiary Education Strategy 2007–2012 and the Statement of Education Priorities 2008–10 (Ministry of Education 2006). The research used a Delphi panel process that looks for consensus answers to specific research questions: How should the Wānanga respond to the policies sketched in the Tertiary Education Strategy and the Statement of Education Priorities? What is the range of issues that may need to be addressed as a result of this new policy framework? What options does the Wānanga have in addressing these issues? The Delphi process enabled a clear set of priorities to be established: provide quality teaching and learning reflecting Māori values and practices; develop a consistent internal philosophy based on tikanga and āhuatanga Māori; and provide second chance education for Māori and other learners.

Audience responses systems are electronic devices allowing audience interaction and they are increasingly being used in educational and business settings to enhance various pedagogical and practical processes. This paper discusses how ARS technology may be used as a method of collecting data for research purposes. Specifically, this paper demonstrates ARS technology's potential utility by duplicating findings from two organisational studies, it discusses how ARS technology may be used to address three prevalent data collection problems, and it suggests how ARS technology may provide scholars with increased access to certain organisational settings, as well as greater integration between research and service activities.